Game 89: Preview: Tigers at Orioles

Detroit Tigers (45-43) at Baltimore Orioles (46-41)

Time/Place: 1:35 p.m., Oriole Park at Camden Yards

SB Nation Blog: Camden Chat

Media: Fox Sports Detroit; MLB.com

Pitching Matchup: Justin Verlander (9-5, 2.58 ERA) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (1-0, 1.93 ERA)

The Tigers hope to start a new winning streak today, after their six game streak crashed in the 13th inning on Saturday, and who better to get things going than the reigning Cy Young winner, MVP and All Star game starter, Justin Verlander?

Verlander doesn't have quite the stat line that he posted in 2011, but he still is one of the best pitchers in the game of baseball, allowing less than one runner on base per inning, and ranking among the top three in the league in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Verlander hopes to rebound from a rocky start at the All Star game where he surrendered a record five runs in just one inning of work.

Baltimore sends rookie right hander Miguel Gonzalez to the mound on Sunday. Gonzalez has just one start in the 2012 season, and one start in his career to go with three appearances in relief. In 18.2 innings of work, he has struck out 18 batters, but walked seven, good enough for a 1.93 ERA and a stellar 1.07 WHIP.

Outlook

Detroit finds themselves 3.5 games behind the division leading Chicago White Sox, and just one half game behind the Cleveland Indians, but within a game and a half of a wild card playoff spot in the American League. The Tigers are in the thick of a pennant race, for better or worse, and the Orioles occupy one of those coveted playoff positions as of today.

Prediction

The Tigers start a new winning streak.